President judge says, "it is not good government to allow our row offices to be so grossly understaffed."

Vacancies in the Northampton County criminal division have forced the row office occasionally to shut down during normal business hours, potentially exposing people to serious legal consequences.

President Judge Stephen Baratta called on Director of Administration Luis Campos last week to address the staff issues. The division's clerks record sentences and verdicts in the courtroom, but also file court documents and serve people who stop in to pay fines, fees and restitution.

On paper, there are 15 employees and nine judges, so someone should be available to serve the public at all times. But with two vacancies and two others in a six-month training period, no one has been available to keep the office open when court is busiest. And the problem may get worse before it gets better, because a third vacancy is imminent, Baratta said.

In a June 9 memo, Baratta urged Campos to fill the positions as soon as possible. Although the division works closely with the court, the county controls personnel matters in the row offices.

"I was under the assumption that we also agreed that it is not good government to allow our row offices to be so grossly understaffed that they cannot meet their obligation to properly serve our citizens," Baratta wrote.

The staff shortage could expose people to serious legal consequences. Lawyers can be required under state law or court order to file legal motions by certain deadlines. Convicts could find themselves in violation of parole or probation if they fail to pay back court fines, or make restitution to victims. Their ability to comply is limited if the criminal division is closed, Baratta said.

"There are people exposed to sanctions if they don't make timely payments. There are filings that are required to be made timely. If someone runs to the courthouse to do either and the court is closed, how can you not accept a filing that you are required to accept?" he asked in an interview Monday.

Campos acknowledged the office can be short-staffed when all nine judges are holding court. The county has started pulling employees from other offices to cover the desk when this happens, he said.

"We are working diligently on solutions to alleviate the high turnover. I agree that we need to continuously improve both the hiring and training process for new employees in an effort to shorten the overall onboarding time," Campos wrote in a July 12 letter responding to Baratta.

This isn't the first time that courts have had to intervene because of staff shortages during County Executive John Brown's first term. Baratta wrote Brown in January demanding more help in the civil division, where backlogs had delayed some court paperwork for weeks. At that time the criminal division also needed manpower.

"In conclusion, both of these divisions are in crisis and it is only a matter of time until a serious mistake is made due to the working conditions and lack of appropriate(ly) knowledgeable staff," according to a Jan. 15 memo.

Brown has tasked Campos with overseeing the row offices, which include the criminal division, civil division and orphan's court. A director of court services used to supervise those departments, but the position has been vacant since Brown terminated Archie Disidore in April 2014.